Device and accessory pairing

ABSTRACT

A device authenticates accessories by detecting that an accessory is attached to the device, determining a unique identification (ID) for the accessory, determining, based on the unique ID, if the accessory has been paired to the device, and in response to determining that the accessory has been paired to the device, enable use of the accessory by the device. In response to determining the accessory has not been paired to the device, the devices performs a secondary authentication process on the accessory.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to electronics and, more particularly, toauthenticating accessories for electronic devices.

BACKGROUND

Many types of electronic devices, including laptop computers, mobilephones, tablet computers, and other types of devices, rely on an arrayof accessories for performing certain functionality. As examples,electronic devices may utilize batteries for wireless power and utilizewired power supplies for charging the batteries and for providing wiredpower. It is common for a new device to be sold by an original equipmentmanufacturer (OEM) with a battery and a power supply. Over the course ofa device's life, however, a user may wish to acquire additionalaccessories for the device. For example, a user may wish to purchase asecond battery for travelling, or after several years of use, may wishto replace a battery that no longer sufficiently holds a charge. Usersmay also wish to keep power supplies at multiple locations or need powersupplies with different plugs and voltages for different countries.

As the life cycles for accessories are often different than the lifecycles of the devices themselves, there exists large demand foraftermarket accessories. Counterfeiters and other unauthorizedmanufacturers often attempt to capitalize on this aftermarket demand byselling unauthorized accessories, including counterfeit accessories andunauthorized refurbished accessories. These unauthorized accessoriesoften times do not work properly and can even, in some instances, damagedevices, potentially hurting an OEM's reputation.

SUMMARY

In general, this disclosure introduces a two-tiered approach toaccessory authentication. As explained in greater detail below, originalaccessories sold with a new device may be paired with the device, whileaftermarket accessories not sold with the device may utilizeauthentication hardware for validating the authenticity of aftermarketdevices.

In one example, a method of authenticating an accessory includes, at adevice, detecting that an accessory is attached to the device;determining a unique identification (ID) for the accessory; at thedevice, determining if the accessory has been paired to the device basedon the unique ID; in response to determining the accessory has beenpaired to the device, enabling use of the accessory by the device.

In another example, a device includes one or more memories and one ormore processors configured to detect that an accessory is attached tothe device; determine a unique identification (ID) for the accessory;determine, based on the unique ID, if the accessory has been paired tothe device; and, in response to determining that the accessory has beenpaired to the device, enable use of the accessory by the device.

In another example, a computer-readable storage medium storesinstructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the oneor more processors to detect that an accessory is attached to a device;determine a unique identification (ID) for the accessory; determining ifthe accessory has been paired to the device based on the unique ID; and,in response to determining the accessory has been paired to the device,enable use of the accessory by the device.

In another example, a device that can authenticate an accessory includesmeans for detecting that an accessory is attached to the device; meansfor determining a unique identification (ID) for the accessory; meansfor determining if the accessory has been paired to the device based onthe unique ID; means for enabling use of the accessory by the device inresponse to determining the accessory has been paired to the device.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features,objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thedescription and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a system configured to implement thetechniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows an example of how a device and an original accessory may beconfigured to interact with one another.

FIG. 3 shows an example of how a device and an aftermarket accessory maybe configured to interact with one another.

FIG. 4 shows an example of how a device and a non-authentic accessorymay be configured to interact with one another.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example process by which a devicemay authenticate an accessory according to the techniques of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example process by which a devicemay authenticate an accessory according to the techniques of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example process by which a devicemay authenticate an accessory according to the techniques of thisdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure describes a two-tiered approach to accessoryauthentication. As explained in greater detail below, originalaccessories sold with a new device may be paired with the device, whileaftermarket accessories not sold with the device may utilizeauthentication hardware for validating the authenticity of aftermarketdevices.

Although the prevalence of counterfeit and other unauthorizedaccessories is well known to most original equipment manufacturers(OEMs), many OEMs cannot justify the initial, up-front investment inaccessory-side, hardware authentication technology required to ensureaccessories are genuine. Consumers are generally not willing to pay forsuch authentication technology because they expect a brand new accessoryshipped in conjunction with a brand new device to be authentic. OEMs arelikewise hesitant to pay for such authentication technology because theytoo know the brand new accessory is authentic, and it is likely manyyears before that accessory might end up in the secondary market, as anunauthorized refurbishment, for example.

This disclosure may implement a two-tiered authentication system forpreventing or reducing the proliferation of unauthorized accessories.The first tier of authentication protection includes determining if anaccessory has been paired to the device with which it is attempting tobe used. The second tier of authentication protection includes utilizingaccessory-side hardware to determine if the accessory is authentic. Aswill be explained in greater detail below, original accessories soldwith a device may be paired to the device and may not need theauthentication hardware, thus reducing the cost of the originalaccessories.

The techniques of this disclosure may enable an OEM to implementaccessory authentication without having to invest in any additionalhardware for the accessories that are packaged with a new device.According to the techniques of this disclosure, original accessories arepaired with a device, such that upon boot up or upon installation of theaccessory, the device may check to see if the accessory has previouslybeen paired. If an accessory has previously been paired, then the devicemay enable use of the accessory without the need to determine if theaccessory includes any sort of authentication hardware. If the accessoryhas not been previously paired with the device, then the device mayattempt to determine if the accessory includes authentication hardware.If the device does not include any sort of authentication hardware, thenthe device may disable the accessory or otherwise prevent the accessoryfrom being used. As will be explained in greater detail below, a devicemay be paired to an accessory by storing, at the device, a uniqueidentifier for the accessory. Authentication of the original accessorymay be performed by determining a unique identifier for the accessoryand comparing it to unique identifiers stored by the device.

For aftermarket accessories, the device and accessory will hot have beenpaired. Thus, in order to authenticate aftermarket accessories, thedevice may perform a different type of authentication routine on theaftermarket accessory. The authentication routine may, for example,include detecting an authentication chip in the accessory to determineif the aftermarket accessory is authentic. The authentication chip may,for example, store encrypted information that the device can use todetermine the authenticity of the aftermarket accessory. If anaftermarket accessory passes the authentication test, then the devicemay enable use of the accessory. If the aftermarket accessory fails theauthentication test, then the device may disable the accessory orotherwise prevent the accessory from being used.

As used in this disclosure, the phrases original accessory or originalaccessories will generally be used to refer to those accessories thatare included with a new device. The phrases aftermarket accessory andaftermarket accessories will generally be used to refer to thoseaccessories that are acquired separately from the device.

According to the techniques of this disclosure, OEMs can ensure theauthenticity of original accessories without including costlyauthentication hardware in the original accessories, thus potentiallyreducing the cost of original accessories. A device may be able todetermine the authenticity of an original accessory by determining ifthe original accessory has been paired to the device. Should theoriginal accessory become separated from the device to which it ispaired, other devices will not authenticate the accessory because itwill not be paired to those other devices and will not include theauthentication hardware of an aftermarket accessory. Thus, shouldunauthorized distributors attempt to counterfeit or refurbish anoriginal accessory, a device may not authenticate the counterfeit orunauthorized refurbished accessory. Moreover, a device may also notauthenticate a stolen accessory, thus eliminating any potential benefitto be gained from the stealing.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a system 100 configured to implement thetechniques of this disclosure. System 100 includes a device 110,original accessory 120, aftermarket accessory 130, and non-authenticaccessory 140. Device 110 may, for example, be any of a laptop computer,a mobile phone or smartphone, a tablet computer, an e-reader, a portablemusic or video player, a camera or camcorder, a positioning system, avideo gaming system, or virtually any other type of electronic devicethat utilizes external accessories. Device 110 includes processor 112,memory 114, and port 116. Depending on its type, device 110 may alsoinclude additional components not shown in FIG. 1.

Processor 110 may implement functionality and/or execute instructionswithin device 110. Processor 110 is generally intended to represent allprocessing capabilities of device 110. It is contemplated that in someimplementations, the processing capabilities of device 110 may actuallybe distributed across multiple processing elements. In this regard,processor 110 is intended to represent one or more of digital signalprocessors (DSPs), general purpose microprocessors, application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable logic arrays (FPGAs), orother equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuitry. Accordingly,the term “processor,” as used herein may refer to any of the foregoingstructure or any other structure suitable for implementation of thetechniques described herein. In addition, in some aspects, thefunctionality described herein may be provided within dedicated hardwareand/or software modules, and the techniques may be fully implemented inone or more circuits or logic elements.

Memory 114 within device 110 may store information for processing duringoperation of device 110. Memory 110 may include temporary memory that isnot for long-term storage. Such temporary memory may be configured forshort-term storage of information as volatile memory and therefore notretain stored contents if powered off. Examples of volatile memoriesinclude random access memories (RAM), dynamic random access memories(DRAM), static random access memories (SRAM), and other forms ofvolatile memories known in the art. Memory 114 may also include one ormore computer-readable storage media. Such computer-readable storagemedia may be configured to store larger amounts of information thanvolatile memory and may further be configured for long-term storage ofinformation as non-volatile memory space and retain information afterpower on/off cycles. Examples of non-volatile memories include magnetichard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms ofelectrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable andprogrammable (EEPROM) memories. Memory 114 may also store programinstructions for execution by processor 112. Memory 114 in device 110 isgenerally intended to represent all the memory that may be contained indevice 110, including, for example, caches, RAM, and storage media. Inthis regard, memory 114 may include multiple, different types of memory.

Original accessory 120 is an accessory that is, for example, sold newwith device 110. Original accessory 120 may, for example, be a battery,a charging device, a wall power supply, a car power supply, an externalspeaker, an external camera, a storage device, a printing device, adocking device, an input device, an output device, a storage device, orvirtually any other type of accessory that is compatible with device110. Original accessory 120 includes a unique ID 122 and connector 124.Depending on its type, original accessory 120 may also includeadditional components not shown in FIG. 1.

As will be explained in greater detail below, as part of pairing device110 and original accessory 120, device 110 may store a copy of unique ID122 (shown as “copy” of unique ID 124 in FIG. 1) in memory 114. Device110 may, for example, store unique ID 124 in a non-volatile ROM (e.g.EPROM or EEPROM) on a motherboard of device 110, for example, inconjunction with BIOS software. Although unique ID 124 may be stored inany type of memory, it is generally contemplated that unique ID 124 maybe stored in a type of memory or memory location that is not accessible,or not easily accessible, by an end user. Although FIG. 1 shows only oneoriginal accessory (i.e. original accessory 120), device 110 may, insome examples, be paired with more than one original accessory, in whichcase device 110 may store copies of the unique IDs for all the deviceswith which it is paired.

For ease of explanation this disclosure may refer to the data stored(e.g. unique ID 124) in device 110 as a “copy” of unique ID 122, but itshould be understood that the data stored by device 110 need notnecessarily be an exact copy of unique ID 122. It may, for example, bean encrypted version of unique ID 122, a value generated based on uniqueID 122, or some other variation. In some examples, unique ID 124 may bea number generated based on a number stored at device 110 and unique ID122. Thus, unique ID 124 may be different than unique ID 122, but aslong as unique ID 122 is known (by reading it from original accessory120, for example), then unique ID 124 may be generated for comparisonpurposes. In some examples, to potentially make it more difficult for auser to circumvent the pairing process, a certificate may be generatedbased on the unique ID of original accessory 120 and based on a uniqueID of device 110. When trying to determine if an accessory has beenpaired device 110 may regenerate that certificate to determine if itmatches the stored certificate.

Aftermarket accessory 130 is an accessory that is sold separately fromdevice 110. Aftermarket accessory 130 may be sold by the manufacturer ofdevice 110, but also, may be sold by a different manufacturer than themanufacturer of device 110. Aftermarket accessory 130, like originalaccessory 120, may be any of a battery, a charging device, a wall powersupply, a car power supply, an external speaker, an external camera, astorage device, a printing device, a docking device, an input device, anoutput device, a storage device, or virtually any other type ofaccessory that is compatible with device 110. Aftermarket accessory 130includes authentication chip 132 and connector 134. Depending on itstype, original accessory 120 may also include additional components notshown in FIG. 1.

Aftermarket accessory includes authentication chip 132, which isgenerally intended to represent any sort of hardware-basedauthentication scheme. By hardware-based authentication scheme, thisdisclosure means any sort of authentication scheme that requires aunique piece of hardware installed on the accessory. Authentication chip132 may, for example, be configured to implement symmetric or asymmetrickey authentication. In some example, authentication chip 132 may beconfigured to implement asymmetric key authentication using ellipticcurve cryptography (ECC). In other examples, authentication chip 132 maybe configured to implement symmetric key authentication using SecureHash Authentication (SHA). In order to implement authenticationfunctionality, aftermarket accessory 130 and device 110 may beconfigured to exchange authentication information. The portion of theauthentication scheme performed by device 110 may be software-based andperformed, for example, by processor 112. Authentication chip 132 may,for example, be a chip from Infineon's ORIGA family of authenticationchips.

Non-authentic accessory 140 is an accessory that is not sold new withdevice 110 and is not authorized by the manufacturer of device 110. Inthis regard, non-authentic accessory may represent a counterfeitaccessory or may represent a once authentic accessory that has beenrefurbished without the approval of the manufacturer of device 110.Non-authentic accessory may also represent an original accessory thathas been separated from the device with which it was originally sold, bytheft for example. Non-authentic accessory 140 may have a similar formfactor to original accessory 120 and aftermarket accessory 130, and mayinclude a similar connection mechanism (e.g. connector 144) as originalaccessory 120 and aftermarket accessory 130. As will be explained ingreater detail below, non-authentic accessory 140 does not include aunique ID stored by device 110 or an authentication chip, and therefore,upon being connected to device 110, device 110 may not enable use ofnon-authentic accessory 140.

Original accessory 120 is configured to attach to device 110. In theexample of FIG. 1, connector 124 may be inserted into port 116 such thatonce attached, device 110 and original accessory 120 are electricallyand communicatively coupled. Aftermarket accessory 130 is similarlyconfigured to attach to device 110. In the example of FIG. 1, connector134 may be inserted into port 116 such that once attached, device 110and aftermarket accessory 130 are electrically and communicativelycoupled. The connectors and port shown in FIG. 1 are merely one exampleof how original accessory 120 and aftermarket accessory 130 may attachto device 110. It is contemplated that other means of attaching may beused. Port 116 and connectors 124 and 134 may, for example, correspondto a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a micro-USB interface, aLightning interface, a 30-pin interface, a Molex connector, an ATXconnector, an I2C-compatible interface, or any other type of interface,including both standardized interfaces and proprietary interfaces.

FIG. 2 shows an example of how device 110 and original accessory 120 areconfigured to interact with one another. In the example of FIG. 2,device 110 is paired with original accessory 120. This pairing may, forexample, be performed by an OEM prior to shipping device 110 andoriginal accessory 120, be performed by a retailer prior to sellingdevice 110 and original accessory 120, or may be performed by an enduser upon an initial boot up of device 110. The pairing of device 110and original accessory 120 may be performed at any point in the lifecycle of device 110, but generally, this pairing may be performed veryearly in the life cycle of device 110, and this pairing may often beperformed prior to the device being acquired by an end user.

The box in FIG. 2 labeled 202 shows one example of the pairing processbetween device 110 and original accessory 120. In the example of FIG. 2,original accessory 120 has an associated unique ID. The unique IDgenerally refers to any public, readable identifier of originalaccessory 120. The unique ID may, for example, be, or be based on, on aserial number of original accessory 120, a product identification numberof original accessory 120, a message authentication code (MAC) oforiginal accessory 120, a web domain certificate, or any other piece ofreadable, unique information. During the pairing process, a copy of theunique ID of original accessory 120 is stored in device 110. Asexplained above, in this context, “copy” should not be interpreted tonecessarily mean an exact copy. Generally speaking, a maker of device110 may implement the pairing process between device 110 and originalaccessory 120 in a variety of ways based on a unique ID of originalaccessory 120.

The pairing process may be performed by an OEM or by a retailer prior todevice 110 and original accessory 120 being delivered to an end user.The pairing process may be done in a configuration mode that isinaccessible to the end user. Thus, only an authorized technician at theOEM or the retailer may perform the pairing, and end users may berestricted from altering the pairing. It is contemplated that the mannerof pairing, and perhaps the fact that device 110 and original accessory120 are paired at all, may be non-apparent to an end user. Only if theend user attempts to use original accessory 120 with another device mayit become apparent that any sort of pairing between device 110 andoriginal accessory 120 exists.

As explained above, the pairing process between device 110 and originalaccessory 120 may be performed by an OEM or retailer, such that device110 and original accessory 120 are already paired once device 110 andoriginal accessory 120 are acquired by an end user. The box in FIG. 2labeled 204 shows one example of how device 110 and original accessory120 may operate once under the control of the end user. Upon boot up ofdevice 110 or upon connection of original accessory 120, device 110 mayread the unique ID of original accessory 120. Device 110 may compare theread unique ID to the stored unique ID to see if they match. In someexamples, the comparison may be performed by determining if the storedunique ID matches the unique ID read from original accessory 120. Asindicated above, however, in some other examples, the stored unique IDmay not be an exact copy of the unique ID of original accessory 120.Therefore, one or both of the stored unique ID and the read unique IDmay undergo some sort of processing prior to the comparison. As originalaccessory 120 is an authorized accessory that has previously been pairedwith device 110, the unique ID read from original accessory 120 matchesthe stored unique ID, and device 110 proceeds to normal operation withoriginal accessory 120.

In the example of FIG. 2, device 110 detects that original accessory 120is attached to device 110. Device 110 determines a unique ID fororiginal accessory 120 and determines if original accessory has beenpaired to device 110 based on the unique ID. In response to determiningthat original accessory 120 has been paired to device 110, device 110enables use of original accessory 120. Device 110 may, for example,determine if original accessory 120 has been paired to device 110 bydetermining if the unique ID for original accessory 120 is stored on amemory of device 110.

FIG. 3 shows an example of how device 110 and aftermarket accessory 130are configured to interact with one another. The box in FIG. 3 labeled302 shows one example of how device 110 and aftermarket accessory 130may operate once under the control of the end user. Upon installingaftermarket accessory 130, device 110 reads the unique ID of aftermarketaccessory 130. Device 110 may have a stored unique ID, but the storedCert ID may be different than the unique ID of aftermarket accessory130. The stored unique ID may, for example, instead be the unique ID oforiginal accessory 120. As the unique ID stored by device 110 does notmatch the unique ID read by device 110 from aftermarket accessory 120,device 110 may initiate a secondary authentication process.

As part of the secondary authentication process, device 110 may generatechallenge data and send the challenge data to aftermarket accessory 130.Authentication chip 132 of aftermarket accessory 130 receives thechallenge data, and using a cryptographic key, performs anauthentication function on the challenge data (“CD” in FIG. 3) togenerate response data. Device 110 likewise performs an authenticationcomputation to generate a check value. The example of FIG. 3 showsdevice 110 and aftermarket accessory 130 implementing ECCauthentication, although other types of authentication may also be used.The result of the authentication function performed by aftermarketaccessory 130 is returned to device 110 as response data (“RD” in FIG.3), and device 110 verifies the response data against the check value.As aftermarket accessory 130 is an authorized accessory with the properauthentication hardware, aftermarket accessory 130 passes theauthentication check performed by device 110, and device 110 enablesnormal operation of aftermarket accessory 130. Thus, even thoughaftermarket accessory 130 is not paired with device 110, device 110still enables normal operation for aftermarket accessory 130.

In the example of FIG. 3, in response to determining that aftermarketaccessory 130 has not been paired to device 110, device 110 performs asecondary authentication process on aftermarket accessory 130. Inresponse to aftermarket accessory 130 passing the secondaryauthentication process, device 110 enables use of aftermarket accessory130. In this context, “passing” the secondary authentication processmeans the secondary authentication process confirms the authenticity ofaftermarket accessory 130.

FIG. 4 shows an example of how device 110 and non-authentic accessory140 are configured to interact with one another. The box in FIG. 4labeled 402 shows one example of how device 110 and non-authenticaccessory 140 may operate once under the control of the end user. Uponinstalling non-authentic accessory 140, device 110 reads the unique IDof non-authentic accessory 140. Device 110 may have a stored unique ID,but the stored unique ID may be different than the unique ID ofnon-authentic accessory 140. The stored unique ID may, for example,instead be the unique ID of original accessory 120. As the unique IDstored by device 110 does not match the unique ID read by device 110from non-authentic accessory 120, device 110 may initiate a secondaryauthentication process. As part of the secondary authentication process,device 110 may attempt to send challenge data to non-authentic accessory140. As non-authentic accessory 140 is an unauthorized accessory withoutthe proper authentication hardware, non-authentic accessory 140 failsthe authentication check performed by device 110, and device 110 doesnot enable operation of non-authentic accessory 140. Non-authenticaccessory 140 may, for example, fail the authentication check because iteither does not include any authentication hardware or because theauthentication hardware does not produce correct response data. Thus,because non-authentic accessory 140 is not paired with device 110 andlacks the proper authentication hardware, device 110 prevents normaloperation for non-authentic accessory 140. As part of preventing normaloperation, device 110 may enable only partial use of non-authenticaccessory 140 or may enable no use of non-authentic accessory 140.

In the example of FIG. 4, in response to determining that non-authenticaccessory 140 has not been paired to device 110, device 110 performs asecondary authentication process on non-authentic accessory 140. Inresponse to the secondary authentication process not authenticating theaccessory, device 110 prevents use of non-authentic accessory 140. Insome instances, in response to the secondary authentication process notauthenticating the accessory, device 110 may enable only partial use ofthe accessory. As one examples of partial use, device 110 may enabledata transfer with the accessory but not receive power for charging fromthe accessory. While OEMs and system designers may have greatflexibility in terms of how to implement partial use, it is generallycontemplated that if partial use is enabled, device 110 may enablefeatures of the accessory that do not potentially affect the safety ofthe user and/or device 110, while disabling features that do potentiallyaffect the safety of the user and/or device 110.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the process by which a device mayauthenticate an accessory according to the techniques of thisdisclosure. The techniques of FIG. 5 will be described with respect todevice 110, original accessory 120, aftermarket accessory 130, andnon-authentic accessory 140, although the techniques of FIG. 5 are notlimited to any particular type of device. In the example of FIG. 5,device 110 is paired to original accessory 120 (502). As explainedabove, this pairing may be performed prior to device 110 and originalaccessory 120 being acquired by an end user. Device 110 may initiate anaccessory (504). Device 110 may, for example, initiate the accessoryupon boot up, upon the accessory being attached to device 110, or inresponse to some other event. Step 502 is shown in FIG. 5 with a dottedline to signify that it may, in some examples, only be performed onetime. For example, pairing device 110 to original accessory 120 (e.g.step 502) may be performed once by an OEM or retailer, whereasinitiating the accessory (e.g. step 504) may be performed many times.Step 504 may, for example, be performed every time device 110 is bootedor restarted or every time an accessory is attached to device 110. Aswill be made clear in the following description, the accessory pairedwith device 110 in step 502 is original accessory 120, while theaccessory initiated at step 504 may be any of original accessory 120,aftermarket accessory 130, or non-authentic accessory 140.

After initiating the accessory, device 110 attempts to verify that theaccessory and the device are paired (506). If the accessory and thedevice are paired (508, yes), then device 110 enables normal operationof the accessory (510). In this case where the accessory and the deviceare paired (508, yes), then the accessory initiated at step 504 is theoriginal accessory (e.g. original accessory 120) paired at step 502.

If the accessory and the device are not paired (508, no), then device110 attempts to perform a second authentication process (512). If theaccessory passes the second authentication process (514, yes), thendevice 110 enables normal operation of the accessory. In this case wherethe accessory is not paired with device 110 but passes the secondauthentication test, the accessory is an authorized, aftermarketaccessory (e.g. aftermarket accessory 130).

If the accessory and the device are not paired (508, no) and if theaccessory does not pass the second authentication process (514, no),then device 110 restricts operation of the accessory (516). In this casewhere the accessory is not paired with device 110 and does not pass thesecond authentication test, the accessory is a non-authentic accessory(e.g. non-authentic accessory 140).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the process by which a device mayauthenticate an accessory according to the techniques of thisdisclosure. The techniques of FIG. 6 will be described with respect todevice 110, original accessory 120, aftermarket accessory 130, andnon-authentic accessory 140, although the techniques of FIG. 6 are notlimited to any particular type of device. FIG. 6 differs from FIG. 5 inthat in FIG. 5 the second authentication process is performed inresponse to device 110 and the accessory not being paired, whereas inFIG. 6, the authentication process is performed first, and the checkingof the pairing is performed in response to the accessory not passing theauthentication process. It is contemplated that device 110 may implementeither or both of the techniques of FIGS. 5 and 6.

In the example of FIG. 6, device 110 is paired to original accessory 120(602). As explained above, this pairing may be performed prior to device110 and original accessory 120 being acquired by an end user. Device 110may initiate an accessory (604). Device 110 may, for example, initiatethe accessory upon boot up, upon the accessory being attached to device110, or in response to some other event. Step 602 is shown in FIG. 6with a dotted line to signify that it may, in some examples, only beperformed one time. For example, pairing device 110 to originalaccessory 120 (e.g. step 602) may be performed once by an OEM orretailer, whereas initiating the accessory (e.g. step 604) may beperformed many times. Step 604 may, for example, be performed every timedevice 110 is booted or restarted or every time an accessory is attachedto device 110. As will be made clear in the following description, theaccessory paired with device 110 in step 602 is original accessory 120,while the accessory initiated at step 604 may be any of originalaccessory 120, aftermarket accessory 130, or non-authentic accessory140.

After initiating the accessory, device 110 performs a firstauthentication process on the accessory (606). If the accessory passesthe first authentication process (608, yes), then device 110 enablesnormal operation of the accessory. In this case, where the accessorypasses the authentication process, the accessory is an authenticaccessory.

If the accessory does not pass the authentication process (608, no),then device 110 may check to verify that the accessory is paired todevice 110 (612). If the accessory is paired to device 110 (614, yes),then device 110 enables normal operation of the accessory (610). In thiscase where the accessory and the device are paired (614, yes), then theaccessory initiated at step 604 is the original accessory (e.g. originalaccessory 120) paired at step 602.

If the accessory does not pass the authentication process (608, no) andif the accessory and the device are not paired (614, no), then device110 restricts operation of the accessory (616). In this case where theaccessory is not paired with device 110 and does not pass theauthentication test, the accessory is a non-authentic accessory (e.g.non-authentic accessory 140).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the process by which a device mayauthenticate an accessory according to the techniques of thisdisclosure. The techniques of FIG. 7 will be described with respect todevice 110 and original accessory 120, although the techniques of FIG. 7are not limited to any particular type of device. In the example of FIG.6, device 110 detects that an accessory is attached to the device 110(702). Device 110 determines a unique ID for the accessory (704). Device110 determines if the accessory has been paired to the device 110 basedon the unique ID (706). In response to determining that the accessoryhas been paired to device 110, device 110 enables use of the accessoryby device 110 (708). In this example, enabling use may mean allowing abattery to charge or to power device 110, allowing a power supply tosupply power, allowing an input device to provide input to device 110,or permitting the accessory to perform any such type of function.

In one or more examples, the functions described may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implementedin software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over, as oneor more instructions or code, a computer-readable medium and executed bya hardware-based processing unit. Computer-readable media may includecomputer-readable storage media, which corresponds to a tangible mediumsuch as data storage media, or communication media including any mediumthat facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place toanother, e.g., according to a communication protocol. In this manner,computer-readable media generally may correspond to (1) tangiblecomputer-readable storage media which is non-transitory or (2) acommunication medium such as a signal or carrier wave. Data storagemedia may be any available media that can be accessed by one or morecomputers or one or more processors to retrieve instructions, codeand/or data structures for implementation of the techniques described inthis disclosure. A computer program product may include acomputer-readable medium.

By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable storagemedia can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, flashmemory, or any other medium that can be used to store desired programcode in the form of instructions or data structures and that can beaccessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed acomputer-readable medium. For example, if instructions are transmittedfrom a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable,fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), orwireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then thecoaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wirelesstechnologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in thedefinition of medium. It should be understood, however, thatcomputer-readable storage media and data storage media do not includeconnections, carrier waves, signals, or other transient media, but areinstead directed to non-transient, tangible storage media. Disk anddisc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, opticaldisc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, wheredisks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce dataoptically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be includedwithin the scope of computer-readable media.

Instructions may be executed by one or more processors, such as one ormore digital signal processors (DSPs), general purpose microprocessors,application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmablelogic arrays (FPGAs), or other equivalent integrated or discrete logiccircuitry. Accordingly, the term “processor,” as used herein may referto any of the foregoing structure or any other structure suitable forimplementation of the techniques described herein. In addition, in someaspects, the functionality described herein may be provided withindedicated hardware and/or software modules configured for encoding anddecoding, or incorporated in a combined codec. Also, the techniquescould be fully implemented in one or more circuits or logic elements.

The techniques of this disclosure may be implemented in a wide varietyof devices or apparatuses, including a wireless handset, an integratedcircuit (IC) or a set of ICs (e.g., a chip set). Various components,modules, or units are described in this disclosure to emphasizefunctional aspects of devices configured to perform the disclosedtechniques, but do not necessarily require realization by differenthardware units. Rather, as described above, various units may becombined in a codec hardware unit or provided by a collection ofinteroperative hardware units, including one or more processors asdescribed above, in conjunction with suitable software and/or firmware.

Various examples have been described. These and other examples arewithin the scope of the following claims.

1. A method of authenticating a peripheral device, the methodcomprising: at a device, detecting that a first accessory is attached tothe device; determining a unique identification (ID) for the firstaccessory; at the device, determining if the first accessory has beenpaired to the device based on the unique ID; in response to determiningthe first accessory has been paired to the device, enabling use of thefirst accessory by the device; at the device, detecting that a secondaccessory is attached to the device; at the device, determining if thesecond accessory has been paired to the device; in response todetermining the second accessory has not been paired to the device,performing a secondary authentication process on the second accessory;and in response to determining the second accessory has not been pairedto the device and the second accessory passing the secondaryauthentication process, enabling use of the secondary accessory by thedevice, wherein the secondary authentication process utilizesauthentication hardware, and wherein the first accessory does notinclude the authentication hardware.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining if the first accessory has been paired to the devicecomprises determining if the unique ID for the first accessory, or avalue based on the unique ID for the first accessory, matches a valuedetermined by the device.
 3. (canceled)
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the secondary authentication process comprises reading anauthentication chip of the second accessory.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: in response to determining the first accessory hasnot been paired to the device, performing the secondary authenticationprocess on the first accessory; in response to determining the firstaccessory has not been paired to the device and the authenticationprocess not authenticating the first accessory, preventing use of thefirst accessory by the device.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining if the first accessory has been paired to the device isperformed in response to the first accessory failing a firstauthentication check.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique IDcomprises a product identification number.
 8. A device comprising: oneor more memories; one or more processors configured to: detect that afirst accessory is attached to the device; determine a uniqueidentification (ID) for the first accessory; determine, based on theunique ID, if the first accessory has been paired to the device; and, inresponse to determining that the first accessory has been paired to thedevice, enable use of the first accessory by the device; detect that asecond accessory is attached to the device; determine if the secondaccessory has been paired to the device; in response to determining thesecond accessory has not been paired to the device, perform a secondaryauthentication process on the second accessory; and in response todetermining the second accessory has not been paired to the device andthe second accessory pass the secondary authentication process, enableuse of the secondary accessory by the device, wherein the secondaryauthentication process utilizes authentication hardware, and wherein thefirst accessory does not include the authentication hardware.
 9. Thedevice of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured todetermine if the first accessory has been paired to the device bydetermining if the unique ID for the first accessory, or a value basedon the unique ID for the first accessory, matches a value determined bythe device.
 10. (canceled)
 11. The device of claim 8, wherein thesecondary authentication process comprises reading an authenticationchip of the second accessory.
 12. The device of claim 8, wherein the oneor more processors are configured to: in response to determining thefirst accessory has not been paired to the device, perform a secondaryauthentication process on the first accessory; in response todetermining the first accessory has not been paired to the device andthe authentication process not authenticating the first accessory,prevent use of the accessory by the device.
 13. The device of claim 8,wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine if thefirst accessory has been paired to the device in response to the firstaccessory failing a first authentication check.
 14. The device of claim8, wherein the unique ID comprises a product identification number. 15.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructionsthat when executed by one or more processors cause the one or moreprocessors to: detect that a first accessory is attached to a device;determine a unique identification (ID) for the first accessory;determining if the first accessory has been paired to the device basedon the unique ID; in response to determining the first accessory hasbeen paired to the device, enable use of the first accessory by thedevice; detect that a second accessory is attached to the device;determine if the second accessory has been paired to the device; inresponse to determining the second accessory has not been paired to thedevice, perform a secondary authentication process on the secondaccessory; and in response to determining the second accessory has notbeen paired to the device and the second accessory passing the secondaryauthentication process, enable use of the secondary accessory by thedevice, wherein the secondary authentication process utilizesauthentication hardware, and wherein the first accessory does notinclude the authentication hardware.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or moreprocessors determine if the first accessory has been paired to thedevice by determining if the unique ID for the first accessory, or avalue based on the unique ID for the first accessory, matches a valuedetermined by the device.
 17. (canceled)
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the secondaryauthentication process comprises reading an authentication chip of thesecond accessory.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 15 storing further instructions that when executed bythe one or more processors cause the one or more processors to: inresponse to determining the first accessory has not been paired to thedevice, perform a secondary authentication process on the firstaccessory; in response to determining the first accessory has not beenpaired to the device and the secondary authentication process notauthenticating the first accessory, prevent use of the first accessoryby the device.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumof claim 15, wherein the one or more processors determine if the firstaccessory has been paired to the device in response to the firstaccessory failing a first authentication check.